Space: The Lunar Landscape

It was beyond doubt one of the greatest
achievements of Soviet science. By landing the unmanned Luna 9
spacecraft softly on the surface of the moon in condition to take and
transmit pictures, Russian space scientists did more than edge ahead of
the U.S. in the race to place a man on the lunar landscape. They proved
that he would find a surface solid enough to stand on when he got
there. Inexplicably, after announcing the landing, the Russians delayed
capitalizing further on their triumph. Then, when British astronomers
intercepted Luna 9's pictures and released them first, a Soviet
scientist...